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Tisza party leads protest over abuse in juvenile correction facility
Thousands marched through Budapest on Saturday in protest over alleged abuse at a juvenile correction facility, after security footage surfaced showing the violent mistreatment of minors in state care. The protest was organised by the opposition Tisza party after videos emerged about an institution, showing its former acting director brutally assaulting children, including slamming one boy’s head against a table and repeatedly beating and kicking another while restraining him on the ground. The footage caused immediate public outrage over Hungary’s child protection system.
The man seen in the footage resigned a day before the videos were released and was arrested shortly afterwards. Police raided the facility, while the minister heading the prime minister’s office, Gergely Gulyás, announced that all five of Hungary’s juvenile detention centres would be placed under police supervision and that an investigation had been launched. As the inquiry expanded, four additional employees were arrested on suspicion of abuse, with one accused of aiding and abetting. The case has further unsettled the government because it echoes the most damaging scandal of Fidesz’s 15 years in power: earlier this year, president Katalin Novák and former justice minister Judit Varga resigned after it emerged that Novák had pardoned the former deputy director of a children’s home who had coerced victims into withdrawing testimony against a paedophile director, with Varga having countersigned the decision.
Attempts by the government to contain the fallout have failed. Ministers initially stressed that the victims were "not orphans" and described the institution as “practically a prison, listing the alleged crimes of those held there, a response that drew sharp criticism from psychologists and the public alike. Addressing the crowd on Saturday, Tisza party leader Péter Magyar said an internal 2021 report on child protection was not about correctional facilities but about children entrusted to the state’s care. “You knew about these atrocities and did nothing,” he said.
Hungary seeks damages from the EU court over asylum ruling
Hungary is taking legal action seeking damages from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over a ruling on its asylum regime, justice minister Bence Tuzson announced in Budapest. The case stems from infringement proceedings brought by the European Commission over Hungary’s migration rules, which culminated in a December 2020 judgment against the government. While Budapest says it took steps in line with the commission’s recommendations, it did not fully bring its legislation into compliance. Tuzson stressed that Hungary is not challenging the final judgment itself, but is instead pursuing compensation, arguing that EU treaties require institutions to make good any damage caused to a member state.
The minister claimed the court failed to apply key principles and rules in its decision, describing the ruling as ideological and political rather than legal. The government earmarked €1.5m in its 2025 budget to pursue the case, including hiring international legal experts, after deciding last year to proceed even at high cost. Hungary was fined €200m by the ECJ for deliberately circumventing EU asylum rules, with an additional €1m accruing daily, a penalty the court described as an unprecedented and serious breach of EU law. Under EU treaties, damages claims against EU institutions fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECJ, meaning Hungary would need to persuade the court to rule that its own final judgment was unlawful to obtain compensation.
Orbán says Russia would respond to EU action on seized assets
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán flew to Brussels on Tuesday evening to attend an EU summit, travelling on a military aircraft alongside senior figures from the country’s pro-government media ecosystem. During the flight, Orbán held a private briefing with members of his entourage, including Dániel Deák, a prominent social media figure affiliated with Megafon, who shared details of the discussion in online posts.
According to those accounts, Orbán told the group that ahead of the summit, he had written to Russian president Vladimir Putin to ask how Moscow would respond if the EU moved to use frozen Russian state assets, and whether Russia was tracking how individual member states voted. Orbán said Putin replied that Russia would adopt strong countermeasures but would take into account each country’s position. The prime minister said he opposed the proposed EU move, describing it as a further step towards escalation. Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, who had arrived in Brussels earlier, also stated that the government had consulted Moscow in advance.